Fort Plain loses 87 businesses in flooding; National Grid wants to help

At least 87 businesses in Fort Plain have told the mayor that they will not reopen following the massive June 26 flooding that devastated the tiny village in Montgomery County, 55 miles west of Albany, NY.

Mayor Guy Barton told me today that most of the businesses are mom-and-pop operations with inventories between $20,000 and $30,000.

They are newstands, ice cream shops, convenience stores, second-hand stores, retail shops and service providers that cannot afford to rebuild their damaged stores and restock their lost inventory out-of-pocket.

“There’s no way they can do it on their own,” the mayor says.

Enter National Grid. Barton tells me he met today with some of its top leaders, who told him the utility company wants to provide grants to help some of the businesses back on their feet.

Before that can happen, National Grid must get permission from the state Public Service Commission, the regulatory authority that oversees utility operations in New York state.

A National Grid representative could not be reached for comment. Barton says he believes those grants will entice some of the business owners to reopen.

“This is like a golden lining for them. I think that with a little push and equity, we can bring some of them back,” he says.

Meanwhile, Barton says that the Save-A-Lot, Fort Plains’ grocery store, will reopen in the same location. And a Family Dollar, which earlier said it probably would not reopen, will open again. The grocery store and dollar store are located in the same small strip mall on River Street.